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Floral Pomelo, bouquet style Fenghuang dancong oolong
Cool Energy, Fenghuang | Phoenix, Floral Aromas, Fuller Bodies, Oolongs, TeaUS$30.0鳳凰單欉 鳳西柚花香
Genuine Yòu Huāxiāng — Fragrance of Pomelo Blooms — is not an easy to offer variety of dancong simply because it takes not only skills and experience to produce well, but also another key factor that is impossible to control — the weather. Ample sunshine before and after the harvest for proper sun-withering is critical for forming its unique, and mesmerising, aroma and palatial accents that echo the tea’s legendary pomelo and honey floral characters. (more similar details in Old Bush Zhilan) Tea Hong’s bouquet style Phoenix oolong Floral Pomelo has been given a further round of light baking and resting for a deeper, more engaging taste, like it used to be.
Net weight: 40 g (1.4 oz) in Kraft-alu pack -
Old Bush Zhilan, bouquet dancong
Cool Energy, Fenghuang | Phoenix, Floral Aromas, Fuller Bodies, Oolongs, TeaUS$42.3鳳凰烏崠、丹湖老欉芝蘭香
From the same small farm that produces our beloved Danhu Old Bush Song Cultivar, old Master Lin tends three venerable bushes that his father planted in his youth, now about 80 years old, crafting from them a seductively fragrant Zhilan Xiang. As a dancong bush gains age in its natural environment, the tea from its leaves has the potential for greater complexity taste and aroma. This is a distinctive trait of this oldest form of oolong. That is one reason harvests from older bushes are keenly sought after by connoisseurs. For a bouquet dancong, however, achieving perfection depends not only on the terroir and the mastery of processing but also on the precise weather and leaf condition at harvest. Unlike classic dancong, where there are a few more steps in which the tea master has some room to compensate for less-than-ideal circumstances, the fewer steps and shorter time in bouquet-style processing has less margin for error note. That means some years are distinctively better than others. That is why for a harvest as nearly perfect as this one, it is a blessing.
Net weight: 40 g (1.4 oz) in Kraft-alu pack -
Fengxi Old Ginger, classic Fenghuang dancong oolong
Fenghuang | Phoenix, Floral Aromas, Fuller Bodies, Neutral-Cool Energy, Oolongs, TeaUS$32.8鳳西 老欉薑母香
Tea Hong's Fengxi Old Ginger offers a floral, fruity profile with a ginger tone, and even a tiny hint of that spicy bite. Its elegant bouquet is luxuriously rich and complex, yet intricate and delicate. This distinctive olfactory presence and its intriguing gingery zest make the tea a unique choice in the classic style Phoenix oolong line up. Jiangmu Xiang, as the tea is called in the romanisation of the original name, has a slightly different origin too: about 10min on the motorbike to the east of Wudong — the Mecca of Fenghuang dancong — in the area of Fengxi, where the original 200+year-old tree has been propagated to the hundreds of production ones. Newer ones are now found elsewhere but we stay with the older clones which yields can give deeper and fuller characteristics of the tea. Like all our classic style Phoenixes, the tea has been rested a few months after harvest before the finishing rebake, and then matured amply before release, as in the proper old tradition.
Net weight: 40 g (1.4 oz) in Kraft-alu pack -
Phoenix Petioles 1988, matured leaf stalk oolong
Fenghuang | Phoenix, Fuller Bodies, Neutral Energy, Oolongs, TeaUS$20.1私藏 陳年鳳凰莖茶
Phoenix tea farmers’ tea
In Phoenix, before a tea goes through the last round of baking to be ready for consumption, it is sorted manually to get rid of the leaf stalks (i.e. petioles), broken leaves, and other leaves that are not as nicely rolled or processed as the others (aka Yu Ye). The producer retains such “refuse”, rebakes it and keep it for personal use or give it out to their neighbours and relatives. They call it cha tou or thê-tao in the local language, as in “Tea Head”*. Provided the right quality, the taste of thê-tao, despite their irregularity in appearance, is actually sweeter and softer than the leaf tea from the same plant and a lot more flexible and tolerant with brewing mistakes. Presenting Tea Hong’s Phoenix Petioles 1988, a thê-tao collected between 1985 to 1988 by our top Phoenix producer. Because of the decades long maturity given onto the tea, it exhibits a post-fermentation characteristics somewhat alike those of finer shu cha Pu’ers — earthy, woodsy, herbal and pacifyingly herbal sweet, combined with an underlying and unmistakable matured Phoenix undertone. A unique taste experience unlike anything else.
Net weight: 40 g (1.4 oz) in Kraft-alu pack -
Honey Orchid XO 1992, matured Phoenix Dancong oolong
Fenghuang | Phoenix, Fuller Bodies, Neutral Energy, Oolongs, TeaUS$27.8特醇鳳凰單樅 陳年蜜蘭香
A local tea master's special reserve
In the Phoenix Mountain area, where some superrich and those in powerful positions would send their chauffeurs to collect teas from certain tea farms at hundreds of thousands per kilo even when the tea is barely baked after processing, there are certain farmers whose own personal tea is never this “fresh”. They actually store their tea in tight tins for many years before opening it again for their own private enjoyment. This practice is more common amongst older farmers, and in other oolong regions as well. It is believed that Phoenix oolongs having been matured for decades are friendlier to the stomach. Although they would not be as as bright, floral or vibrant as younger ones, they are overall a lot more soothing, calming and indeed, comforting. Tea Hong’s Honey Orchid XO (Extra Old) 1992 delivers a much softer, smoother body with that signature honey sweetness but in the warm humbleness akin to a very fine shu cha Pu’er. If the other fresher Honey Orchid we offer is a Van Gogh, this XO version is a Rothko, metamorphically speaking*.
Net weight: 50 g (1.8 oz) in Kraft-alu pack -
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Jade Orchid, bouquet Phoenix dancong oolong
Fenghuang | Phoenix, Floral Aromas, Neutral-Cool Energy, Oolongs, TeaOriginal price was: US$21.4.US$19.0Current price is: US$19.0.雪片玉蘭香
Xue Pian Yu Lan Xiang
One of the most common practices in tea naming in the Fenghuang region is giving a tea the name of the flower which the farmer associates the aroma with. Some of such flowers are fictitious, yet some are real. Like this one, Yu-lan, after the flower tree Magnolia denudata, a.k.a. Yulan magnolia. Jade orchid — as the name "Yulan" is translated — is a tree native to the region where Phoenix is. The tea cultivar itself is relatively new, having been developed locally by a farmer Wei Li Man in the 1980’s. That is why the more popular name for the plant itself amongst local farmers is Li Man zhong, or Li Man’s cultivar. To me, the winter harvest resembles the flower’s aroma more closely so we select only this for Tea Hong’s Jade Orchid. This tea is also available in a small portion as a part of Tea Taster’s Box: Nine Oolong Samplers.
Net weight: 40 g (1.4 oz) in Kraft-alu pack -
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Shèmen Dancong Double Baked, Phoenix dancong oolong
Fenghuang | Phoenix, Floral Aromas, Fuller Bodies, Neutral Energy, Oolongs, TeaUS$34.0文火深焙 老樹輋門單欉
Rock tea of Phoenix
Deep in Wudong, the most revered area for Fenhuang Dancong production, the village of Shèmen ( sheh-mehn ) is home to one of the most elusive traditional style oolongs. Here the Shè ( 畬 ) tribe settled a thousand years ago and began producing oolong to bake it in a way that was copied in Wuyishan a few hundred years later to produce Wuyi oolongs. Tea Hong’s double baked and matured Shèmen Dancong is our best attempt to reconstruct the same tea of the peace-loving and hard-working Shè people 10 centuries ago. This old style oolong gives a clear and most eloquent definition of the tea term yan-yun — music from the rock. The term has been mostly employed to describe better Wuyi oolongs yet it has never been more beautifully defined by this Phoenix tea. If you ever wonder about the relationship of the oolongs between the two regions, this may well be the link you are looking for.
Net weight: 40 g (1.4 oz) in Kraft-alu pack -
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Big White Leaf, Phoenix dancong oolong
Fenghuang | Phoenix, Floral Aromas, Fuller Bodies, Neutral-Cool Energy, Oolongs, TeaOriginal price was: US$17.5.US$16.0Current price is: US$16.0.鳳凰清香 大白葉
Fenghuang Da Baiye:
Produced using a Phoenix native cultivar Da Baiye ( i.e. Big White Leaf ), and has certain taste similarity as the rarer Song Cultivar Huangzhi Xiang, this tea is popular amongst traders for use as a substitute for the pricier label. Tea Hong’s top quality selection, Big White Leaf is certainly a good demonstration of how this tea can fool the lesser experienced connoisseurs. That said, however, the trained tongue can certainly tell it is a fine tea on its own for the uniqueness in its floral aroma, silky texture and soft, smooth body.
Net weight: 40 g (1.4 oz) in Kraft-alu pack -
Honey Orchid Supreme, classic Phoenix dancong oolong
Fenghuang | Phoenix, Floral Aromas, Fuller Bodies, Neutral Energy, Oolongs, TeaUS$35.8鳳凰極品 老樅蜜蘭香
Old Bush Milan Xiang:
For real aficionados who would not be satisfied until they have discovered a deeper depth, a rounder fullness and a more lingering sweetness, we’d go overboard to offer the extreme. Rarest small batches of leaves from special bushes individually processed only by top masters. Such as this supreme quality Milan Xiang Dancong. For those who demand more potential from the leaves for fulfilling their infusion skills. For thirsty souls seeking a moment of tranquility in the depth of the tinkling after-sweetness of Honey Orchid Supreme.
Net weight: 40 g (1.4 oz) in Kraft-alu pack -
Phoenix Classic, dancong oolong
Fenghuang | Phoenix, Floral Aromas, Fuller Bodies, Neutral Energy, Oolongs, TeaUS$19.8鳳凰蜜香 白葉單欉
Fenghuang Baiye:
Before Chaozhou Guest Hotel was privatised, this officially appointed lodging for visiting high-ranking government officials used to serve only classic style Phoenix oolongs in all of their restaurants*. Tea Hong’s Phoenix Classic could well be the special quality in the large white porcelain teapot on the breakfast table sitting next to bamboo steamers holding finely crafted dim sums for the privileged guests. All fine and quintessential characters of the classic Phoenix oolong can be found in this tea — Sweet, fruity, and lively with notes of peach and dried longan, lychee and sweet potato. A proud heritage of Guangdong oolong.
Net weight: 40 g (1.4 oz) in Kraft-alu pack -
Snow Orchid, bouquet Phoenix dancong oolong
Cold Energy, Fenghuang | Phoenix, Floral Aromas, Fuller Bodies, Oolongs, TeaUS$21.4鳳凰冬茶、雪片銀花香
Xuepian Ya-shi Xiang:
Finer winter Phoenix oolongs have always been sought after for their unforgettable natural bouquet fragrances. To us, an aroma of a premium tea has to be complete with a winning taste profile. It has taken us over a decade to fine tune the mastery of the processing of the choicest harvest to attain a result we can be proud of. Presenting Tea Hong’s very own Snow Orchid, the roundest, smoothest, and by far the most seductively fragrant oolong ever known. It is our luscious indulgence secretly from Nature.
Net weight: 40 g (1.4 oz) in Kraft-alu pack -
Orchid Literati, Phoenix dancong oolong
Cool Energy, Fenghuang | Phoenix, Floral Aromas, Fuller Bodies, Oolongs, TeaUS$41.3鳳凰春茶、鴨屎香單欉
the genuine Duck Poo Tea
As a person continues to discover tea, sometimes finding one with subtle and yet complex fineness seems a lot more exciting than one with strong impressions. That is how we feel when we got hold of this. The locals aptly name it “Cao-lan” (Cymbidium goeringii), the rare orchid which ancient Chinese literati had revered for millenniums for its understated beauty and fragrance*. The long, sweet yet subtle taste and aftertaste of this tea echos the sentiments for the civilized persistence for humanity virtues of the classic eras. If you enjoy our Eight Immortals, Orchid Literati will take you to another level.
Net weight: 40 g (1.4 oz) in Kraft-alu pack -
Shiguping Wulong, rare Phoenix oolong
Fenghuang | Phoenix, Fuller Bodies, Lighter Aromas, Neutral-Cool Energy, Oolongs, TeaUS$31.9鳳凰隱世珍品 極限量 石古坪烏龍
Rare Indigenous Cultivar:
To us, offering the extremely rare Shiguping Wulong is not a challenge enough. We think we should give you the best of its kind. Trekking further deep into the mountain above the elusive main village of Shiguping, we found the patch of land which the locals called Liao-xi-ya, where it all began. The tea is softer, yet fuller and even more complex than that in the main village. The very original Shiguping Wulong*, as highly acclaimed by the man who devoted all of his life in advocating oolongs of Phoenix, the 74 years-old tea specialist Huang Bozi.
Net weight: 40 g (1.4 oz) in Kraft-alu pack -
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Song Cultivar, Phoenix dancong oolong
Cool Energy, Fenghuang | Phoenix, Floral Aromas, Fuller Bodies, Oolongs, TeaOriginal price was: US$36.7.US$32.0Current price is: US$32.0.鳳凰單欉、烏崠宋種黃橘香（黃枝香）
Huangzhi Xiang Dancong:
Song pedigree tea cultivar Huangzhi Xiang distinguishes itself from others of the same name not only by its living ancestor that has been carbon-dated back to the 13th century (late Song), but also by the elegantly complex taste and aroma of the tea it yields. That is why it is the most revered of all Phoenix oolong in its own origin and at the nearby Gongfu Tea Capital of the World — Chaozhou.
Net weight: 40 g (1.4 oz) in Kraft-alu pack -
Orchid Gratus, Phoenix dancong oolong
Fenghuang | Phoenix, Floral Aromas, Fuller Bodies, Neutral Energy, Oolongs, TeaUS$29.9烏崠 鋸朵仔 ( 杏仁香單欉 )
Wudong Xingren Xiang
For people who like classic style Phoenix but desire something more mellow than Honey Orchid, Orchid Gratus offers a taste that is as full-bodied. It is balanced with as subtle a warm and slightly sweet aroma. Not only is this a great choice for the veteran tea connoisseur who seeks peace in the cup, but is also a bridge between softer oolongs and the more vibrant world of taste in Fenghuang Dancong.
Net weight: 40 g (1.4 oz) in Kraft-alu pack -
Sale
Honey Orchid, Phoenix dancong oolong
Fenghuang | Phoenix, Floral Aromas, Fuller Bodies, Neutral Energy, Oolongs, TeaOriginal price was: US$29.8.US$25.0Current price is: US$25.0.鳳凰單樅、烏崠蜜蘭香
Milan Xiang Dancong:
The fine mastery that produces Tea Hong’s Honey Orchid has to be coupled with select first flush harvests from high grown tea bushes in order to deliver the kind of quality only a restricted circle of tea aficionados have known and kept to their secret. The overall production volume for such quality in the whole Phoenix region is only a few thousand kilos after all. Most will go to local elites, and the rest to the few hardcore Phoenix oolong fans that are also tea merchants, like us. This tea is also available in a small portion as a part of Tea Taster’s Box: Nine Oolong Samplers.
Net weight: 40 g (1.4 oz) in Kraft-alu pack
